Canonical equilibrium of mean-field $O(n)$~models in the presence of random fields

Abstract

We study canonical-equilibrium properties of Random Field $O(n)$ Models involving classical continuous vector spins of $n$ components with mean-field interactions and subject to disordered fields acting on individual spins. To this end, we employ two complementary approaches: the mean-field approximation, valid for any disorder distribution, and the replica trick, applicable when the disordered fields are sampled from a Gaussian distribution. On the basis of an exact analysis, we demonstrate that when replica symmetry holds, both the approaches yield identical expression for the free energy per spin of the system. As consequences, we study the case of $n=2$ ($XY$ spins) and that of $n=3$ (Heisenberg spins) for two representative choices of the disorder distribution, namely, a Gaussian and a symmetric bimodal distribution. For both $n=2$ and $n=3$, we demonstrate that while the magnetization exhibits a continuous phase transition as a function of temperature for the Gaussian case, the transition could be either continuous or first-order with an emergent tricriticality when the disorder distribution is bimodal. We also discuss in the context of our models the issue of self-averaging of extensive variables near the critical point of a continuous phase transition.